Mitole

Since impressing on debut in maiden special weight company at Churchill Downs last November, Halina's Forte has spent her last two starts in stakes races, earning placings in both the Fern Creek S. and finishing off 2023 as the beaten favorite at Fair Grounds in the Letellier Memorial S. Dec. 23. Racing in New York for the first time Saturday, the 2-1 top choice broke quickly was out outsprinted by a trio of runners to her inside. Relegated to a wide fourth as the leaders opened up a gap back...

Edited Press Release Fasig-Tipton has catalogued 139 entries for its February Digital Sale, including phase one of the Ruis Racing LLC Dispersal. Entries may be viewed here and bidding is open now through Tuesday, Feb. 20, beginning at 2 PM ET. "Fasig-Tipton Digital continues to gather momentum and traction with buyers and sellers, evidenced by the size and quality of this February Digital Sale catalogue," said Leif Aaron, Fasig-Tipton Director of Digital Sales. The catalogue includes horses of racing, breeding stock, a 2-year-old, and 22 yearlings. Offerings include several recent...

The TDN's popular annual series 'Mating Plans, presented by Spendthrift,' continues today in a conversation with Haymarket Farm's Chip Montgomery. "I've always been enamored with the deep pedigrees of the stalwarts of the industry and have gravitated recently to granddaughters, etc. of Personal Ensign, My Flag and Storm Flag Flying," said Montgomery. "About once a quarter, I will put on the video of the 1988 Breeders' Cup Distaff to hear Tom Durkin's call of Personal Ensign's nose win against Winning Colors to retire undefeated.   It's an honor to own several...

A short yearling by Mitole (hip 87) brought top price of $95,000 from Calumet Farm during the first session of the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company's January Winter Mixed Sale Tuesday. Bred by Kathie Maybee, the colt was consigned by Danielle Loya's Silver Oaks Farm. He is out of Wild Hickory (Terrell), a half-sister to multiple graded winner Alert Bay (City Zip). The colt RNA'd for $45,000 at last year's Fasig-Tipton November sale. During Tuesday's consignor preferred section, 75 horses grossed $1,738,400 for an average of $23,179 and a median of...

8th-Oaklawn, $140,000, Alw (NW2L)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 12-31, 2yo, 1m, 1:38.63, ft, 4 lengths. CARBONE (c, 2, Mitole--Treasure in Heaven, by Street Sense) was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following a front-running eight-length debut romp going six furlongs at Churchill Downs Nov. 19. Stretching out to a mile for this second start, the 3-5 favorite sprinted right out to the early lead and was unchallenged while loping along through fractions of :23.40 and :47.76. He was let loose approaching the stretch and bound clear to score by four lengths. Lightline (City...

By this stage, we can really talk about living in "the Into Mischief era." Not just because the Spendthrift phenomenon ends 2023 by sealing a fifth consecutive general sires' title, but also because he has become the definitive stallion of our times. In some respects, New Year's Day is a more literal turning point for our sport than other walks of life. For bureaucratic purposes, the weanlings of today become the short yearlings of tomorrow; and Into Mischief himself takes one step closer to veteran status, as he enters his...

Today we'll consider some of the sires standing between $10,001 and $19,999. For a long time, I called this the Lookin At Lucky zone. But don't worry, we won't be deploring his neglect yet again: he's staying in Chile, where they evidently appreciate him rather more. Plenty of horses in this bracket have recently relinquished their brief window of commercial opportunity, and are now hanging around to discover whether they might join the very small group whose first runners generate a fresh vogue. Even with the newcomers out of the...

And so another cycle opens, bringing all the usual dilemmas. To assist their resolution--albeit the exercise seldom fails to entail a degree of provocation, sometimes even offense--today we commence our annual quest for value among Kentucky stallions. This time round, value feels likely to prove quite elusive. With the middle market increasingly porous, stud fees overall are at a challenging level. If they were driven up by a long bull run in international bloodstock, that appears to be tapering away and there's evidently going to be quite a lag before...

The 2023 Wanamaker's December Sale catalogue is now available online with bidding open at 8:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 21. The first listing completes that day at 5:00 p.m. EST and subsequent listings close in three-minute increments, the company said in a release Wednesday. With weanlings, yearlings, horses of racing age, open broodmares and broodmares in-foal all catalogued this month, top first-crop stallions of 2023 will also be represented. Yearlings by Mitole, Maximus Mischief and Vino Rosso are included. Highlights of the catalogue: A yearling filly by Mitole (Hip...

2nd-AQU, $85k, Msw, 2yo, 7f, 12:20p.m. ET From the family of GISW Acoma (Empire Maker) and her half-brother, the late, great GISW Arch (Kris S.), CONQUEST WARRIOR (City of Light) will be the priciest unveiling on the afternoon in New York, carrying a princely $1 million tag from the 2022 KEESEP sale. Racing for Courtlandt Farms under the tutelage of Shug McGaughey, the colt is a half-sibling to a series of winners out of dam MSW Tea Time (Pulpit) including unraced 3-year-old filly Soul Play (Union Rags), who was also...

In this series, we will have a look at American-bred first-time juvenile starters (through the end of 2023) and debuting 3-year-olds in maiden races at Meydan Racecourse, with a specific focus on pedigree and/or performance in a sales ring in the meetings leading up to the Dubai World Cup program Saturday, Mar. 30, 2024. The flagship venue for racing in the United Arab Emirates, Meydan will host racing predominantly on Fridays, with the exception of Super Saturday Mar. 2 and Dubai World Cup night. Here are the horses of interest...

Everybody understands the deal with new stallions. Most will never again command so high a fee, nor so potent a book, and many will complete their principal service to commercial breeders long before any of their stock has actually entered a starting gate. Once they reach that point, you need only browse the freshman tables of years past to get a chastening sense of how many "exciting" newcomers will establish a lasting eligibility to keep seeding the breed. On the other hand, their window of opportunity is ruthlessly brief. If...